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If you can get to Edinburgh, then the following event, organised by Word Power books may well be of interest:

THE 14TH EDINBURGH INDEPENDENT RADICAL BOOK FAIR – THE ALTERNATIVE BOOK FESTIVAL

Taking place from Wednesday 27th to Sunday 31st October 2010 in Out of the Blue Drill Hall, 30-38 Dalmeny Street, Edinburgh, EH6 8RG, Scotland, UK.

There you can also seeStill Life: An Exhibition. This exhibition will be on throughout the 14th Edinburgh Independent Radical Book Fair.Still Life is an initiative by the inspirational Ombetja Yehinga Organisation (Red Ribbon Organisation) of Namibia, a youth arts organisation which seeks to use the performing and visual arts as a means to engage, inform and empower young people about HIV/AIDS and related social issues. Namibia has one of the highest rates of HIV/AIDS in the world and OYO’s work with children and young people has received international acclaim. The exhibition has travelled throughout Namibia and been presented in schools, school hostels and community venues reaching over 35,000 people.

And here I must declare a personal interest in the book fair because a very dear friend of mine, Ilan Pappe, opens the Book Fair at 7.00pm on the 27th. He’ll discuss his new book Out of the Frame: The Struggle for Academic Freedom in Israel and Gazawhich is co -written with Noam Chomsky. Plus there will be an illustrated talk with William Parry on his book against the Wall: the Art of Resistance in Palestine.

Ilan is a Jewish Israeli and is one of the world’s leading historians of the Middle East, with a distinctive view of Arab-Israeli relations. He is a Professor in the Institute for Arab and Islamic Studies at the University of Exeter, the Director of the European Centre for Palestine Studies in Exeter and the Co-Director of the Exeter Centre for Ethno-Political Studies. He was the academic head and founder of the Institute for Peace Studies in Givat Haviva, Israel (1992-2000) and the Chair of the Emil Touma Institute for Palestinian Studies in Haifa (2000-2008).

I was at school with Ilan’s wife, also an Israeli, and have visited them both in Israel. Taking the political stance that they do – i.e. pro-Palestinian – is not without risk and I so admire their courage. Ilan can no longer work freely in Israel and so took the chair at Exeter. I have learned a lot about the politics of the Middle East from these two wonderful people – and their message, and that of other brave people like them, needs to be heard.

If you are unsure about the ins and outs of the modern state of Israel, and you would like to learn more about the situation there, then consider reading Ilan’s book,A History of Modern Palestine

Ilan’s opener event will be followed at 8.30pm by a short illustrated talk by William Parrywho recently publishedAgainst the Wall: The Art of Resistance in Palestinewhich captures the graffiti and art that has transformed Israel’s wall into a living canvas of resistance and solidarity. It features the work of artists including Banksy as well as Palestinian artists and activists.

Whatever your views on the politics of the Middle East – do, please, at least, visit Word Power’s website and consider buying, at least some, of your books from them in future.

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